Now I've seen in the reviews section of this movie, that people who won't get this movie, doesn't have a heart. I do and I did find this heartbreaking even if this movie wasn't clear for me to understand. I just thought the movie was rather too long and I just couldn't understand what the characters were saying. I have tried to look at some of the scenes again for the second time from the film and I still didn't quite get what the characters were on about. Yes all this relates to aids but I understand there is more then this film can offer. I just didn't get it even if they pushed Richard Gere into it. All I can say here is that not everyone will understand this film and we should accept it!

I began watching this movie not knowing if this would be a fiction drama or a documentary involving everything that happened with AIDS in the nineties. The get go made me believe it would show the beginning of the disease's discovery, and would later focus on the bad lifestyle one or other character would face. However, "And the Band Played On" never decides where it wants to focus. Most of the time it gave me the idea that they wanted to show the political conspiracies that involved the subject-- and they really do that--, but there is too few about the lives of those who got infected. When director shows the political arguments between the important people involved in the problem, we aren't able to know whether he's telling a real story or not. The movie ends and we-- I, at least-- don't know if it really happened that way or not. That's why I think this could have been much better. I'm giving it 6 stars in respect of those who find the theme extremely delicate-- maybe due to personal problems-- and for the brave people involved in the project, but I'm not recommending it anyhow, since I believe there are better works involving such subject out there. If you know any, please let me know!

And The Band Played On is an extremely powerful movie. This movie should be required viewing in any high school. The fact that it took so incredibly long for the then higher powers to admit to the existence of AIDS is stunning and sad. The performances throughout the movie were moving and effective. I thought that Sir Ian McKellan and Richard Gere represented respectfully the signs of strength and fear.I was also disheartened to learn that throughout this tragedy, there were individuals who might have been more concerned with helping and protecting their own reputation and agenda as well as accepting the credit for their work in breaking down point by point the disease known as AIDS. Alan Alda as Dr. Gallo was fascinating. In fact all of the performances from Matthew Modine and Richard Gere to Steve Martin and BD Wong were great. The most important thing here though is the history of this disease and the hope that we can learn from it.

This is a movie based upon the late Randy Shilts book AND THE BAND PLAYED ON , a book that I have never read but know has been critically acclaimed and praised for its readability since it is very similar in structure to a detective novel as scientists try to track down and identify a virus that is killing gay men . I also know the book also received some criticism because it was written by a HIV+ homosexual who seemed to have a political axe to grind . If that's the case ( Again I confess to never reading the book ) then all I can say is that this is a very well adapted story Certainly the story works best when the scientists are on the case . If the story about the nationalistic rivalries and plain old fashioned egotism ( A Nobel prize to the first person to identify this illness is a certainty here ) of the scientific community had been the main focus this would have been superb drama but ironically because of a need to make the drama more human we're introduced to far too many characters so that the story soon descends into mawkish melodrama and yes I did notice something of an agenda in here Take the bath house sequences for example where gay men congregate for casual sex and a character points out to Dr Harold Jaffe ( In reality it's being pointed out to a mainstream audience ) about how a hetrosexual equivalent would be somewhere a man would be able to meet lots of beautiful women for meaningless but great sex . This equivalent doesn't actually exist in reality though and we a mainstream audience are being asked to sympathise with homosexual promiscuity . In many ways it's a form of emotional blackmail , if we can't empathise with this lifestyle that marks us down as " homophobic " when homophobia doesn't come into it - Promiscuity is the problem here . Later the owner of the bath house Eddie Papasano speaks about how he's not going to shut his premises down because he'll lose money . Oh boy you can see where this is heading , greed is good for the pocket and bad for people who choose to have sex with complete strangers . Are we to take it the greed of Eddie Papasano and the people who use his bath house are comparable to the blood bank executives who scared of losing their profits don't screen blood donations for HIV+ Of course not , but this TVM makes out anyone wants to make money in whatever form is a cold hearted villain and anyone committing promiscuity is a hard done by victim . It should be pointed out that Phil Collins is laughable in the role of Papasano Phil Collins isn't the only inapprotiate cameo in this television movie , the whole TVM drowns in them , it's even more distracting than THE LONGEST DAY with big name or familiar face actor appearing in the shortest scenes: Alan Alda , Richard Gere , Anjelica Houston , Steve Martin , Ian Mckellan and Saul Rubinek to name but some all make appearances which seems more like a parade of Hollywood liberals and makes you realise that you're watching a TVM . Like the story the familiar faces should have only been confined to the scientists working on the case rather have appear in pointless cameos AND THE BAND PLAYED ON ends with a poignant epilogue made even more poignant when one of those featured is Elisabeth Glaser who died on December the 3rd 1994 , the day after this TVM received its British network premier